Gran Turismo 7 Update Draws Criticism Over Payouts

Gran Turismo 7 Economy Controversy 01.jpg
Gran Turismo 7's in-game economy has been a source of controversy for the newly released racing title, and the latest update has complicated the matter even more.

The latest release in the massively successful and influential Gran Turismo series has been met with mostly positive reviews, which praise GT7 gorgeous graphics, improvements to the sounds and driving physics, and a return to the car customization options that helped popularize the series.

One thing that has been met with far less praise is the in-game economy of GT7. For those not familiar with the title, Gran Turismo 7 rewards players for winning races or challenges with credits. These credits can be used toward buying new cars or parts upgrades. But this edition of Gran Turismo makes earning these credits a slower process than recent installments of title, which has frustrated many owners of the game.

The slower economy has also raised concern from some, as it could indicate that the game intends to steer players toward purchasing in game credits with real money. This system is known to most as micro-transactions.

The payout rate for credits earned through achievements in game isn't the lowest in the series history, nor is this the first Gran Turismo title to offer micro-transactions, but GT7's credit system remains one of the most discussed features. A common counter argument to those criticizing the payout rates is that this release is one of the rare racing titles that encourages you to earn your content, rather than giving players too much too soon.

Gran Turismo 7 Economy Controversy 02.jpg


The most recent update as of the time of this writing brought GT7 to version 1.07. Among the changes were adjustments to the payouts for several events, including a one lap race at the fictional Fisherman's Ranch course. This race stood out to those trying to earn credits, since its payout relative to time invested made it the leading choice to "grind". Grinding involves running the same race again and again to earn a repeating payout. The Fisherman's Ranch payout has now been reduced to less than half of its previous amount, which has effectively eliminated the fastest way to earn credits for free in the game.

What are your thoughts on the Gran Turismo 7 payout system? Is this game designed to encourage micro-transactions? Does the credit system encourage earning rewards rather than being given everything too soon? Let us know in the comments below.
About author
Mike Smith
I have been obsessed with sim racing and racing games since the 1980's. My first taste of live auto racing was in 1988, and I couldn't get enough ever since. Lead writer for RaceDepartment, and owner of SimRacing604 and its YouTube channel. Favourite sims include Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Automobilista 2, DiRT Rally 2 - On Twitter as @simracing604

Comments

I'm not playing GT7 but I feel like it's good they remove "exploits" so you don't need to feel "obliged" to have to run the same race over and over again to gain some money. That will bore you out quickly.

On the other hand maybe they should have done it the other way round and instead used that race as the benchmark for other race rewards and increased those rewards instead.

If it were a smaller game I'd say they have to make a living too, but with the millions of copies that are being sold of GT7 I don't think they will go bankrupt easily :)
 
Great article @Mike Smith I wonder which of the series had a slower payout system? I remember in GT3 I drove the Toyota Yaris for what seemed like forever. Though by the end of it, the Yaris was essentially a fully bread race car!
 
I'm not playing GT7 but I feel like it's good they remove "exploits" so you don't need to feel "obliged" to have to run the same race over and over again to gain some money. That will bore you out quickly.

On the other hand maybe they should have done it the other way round and instead used that race as the benchmark for other race rewards and increased those rewards instead.

If it were a smaller game I'd say they have to make a living too, but with the millions of copies that are being sold of GT7 I don't think they will go bankrupt easily :)
Issue is, the "most wanted cars" in the game cost over 10.000.000 in-game credits, so it is a grind one way or the other, so now you would have to run the same race over and over far more times.

Great article @Mike Smith I wonder which of the series had a slower payout system? I remember in GT3 I drove the Toyota Yaris for what seemed like forever. Though by the end of it, the Yaris was essentially a fully bread race car!
According to this GTPlanet article, taking into account car prices, the more grind-y would be GT5 followed by 7 and Sport
 
I'll just use a slightly re-phrased quote from I wrote as a thread/article candidate on the forums earlier today...

"I think there's a far simpler reason why people are angry that shouldn't be ignored; the game is virtually unplayable at the time of writing. What was supposed to be a 2 hour maintenance period has lasted over 27 hours now, due to an unspecified issue with version 1.07.

And with GT7 requiring a connection to the server as an anti-cheat measure (blame e-sports for that one), it's led to the cynic's worst fears about online only games being realised. You can technically play, but the only modes available are music rally, and a limited version of world circuits; you can quick race, time trial, or drift with one of 13 rental cars."


So you've got a lot of people still wanting to play Gran Turismo yesterday or today who haven't been able to, at least not at a level they would like to, and that has flipped the general feelings in the fanbase overnight. We're reaching EA levels of outrage here, and I wouldn't be surprised if this news spills over into the YouTube gaming industry critic spectrum, even though most of them don't cover racing games.
 
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Unfortunately I've been fearing this for some time.

Full price triple A titles with the pay to win game mechanics of the free to play titles.

I knew it wouldn't be long before the big studios realised they could double dip by charging full price upfront for the game and then make you continually pay for the content.

The poor guys over on gtplanet are really rather miffed about this development.
 
We've all been there with GT. I want 'car' therefore the quickest way doing the best payout per hour race there is.

What grinds me the most about the new economy in GT is you can't sell cars.
 
I tried to play last night. Bought the game. Installed. Then got a server maintenance issue. I'm an offline only player. So wasn't impressed.

As for microtransactions, they are in FIFA and I've not spent a penny. I won't with GT7.

I will playeit and if it gets boring I will sell it and carry on gaming on my PC. With proper Sims.
 
It seems, that somebody did a miscalculation... either on the ingame credits or on the micro-transactions... ;) ...but it seems they go hand in hand!? :whistling:
I can't welcome these moves from Sony, if they speculate this will move some people into buying ingame credits with cash... :thumbsdown:
The point is: they can simply excuse this move by telling the community, the progress would be too easy with the old payout system and they want to keep people "motivated" for unlocking things.
 
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Premium
very good game, but I think Forza 8 will surclass it
Interestingly having gotten very bored with GT7 in probably alot less than 20 hours play I fired up Forza 7. It may not look quite as pretty but it stands up well and the driving/racing are better imho. What I didn’t like about Forza was all the boosts and the general structure of it which was a bit poor. Hoping F8 will simplify things and improve on the racing fundamentals.
 
Gran Turismo 7, Warcraft 3 remake, GTA trilogy, Cyberpunk 2077, Street Fighter V, Fallout 76... How can the big companies behind all these prestigious titles make such big mistakes ? It really feels like every big game release has to be crippled by some idiotic or polemical decisions, triggering their loyal fanbase and degrading the developers' work. What are these producers and PR specialists paid for ?
 
Premium
Gran Turismo 7, Warcraft 3 remake, GTA trilogy, Cyberpunk 2077, Street Fighter V, Fallout 76... How can the big companies behind all these prestigious titles make such big mistakes ? It really feels like every big game release has to be crippled by some idiotic or polemical decisions, triggering their loyal fanbase and degrading the developers' work. What are these producers and PR specialists paid for ?
It's because pure business guys are at the helm and steering these old franchises now
 
Gran Turismo 7, Warcraft 3 remake, GTA trilogy, Cyberpunk 2077, Street Fighter V, Fallout 76... How can the big companies behind all these prestigious titles make such big mistakes ? It really feels like every big game release has to be crippled by some idiotic or polemical decisions, triggering their loyal fanbase and degrading the developers' work. What are these producers and PR specialists paid for ?
This is partly why I stay away from triple A titles these days. The other part is that they're all bland and for the most part use exactly the same boring game mechanics.

The big studios no longer take innovative risks with gameplay, and just churn out the same crap year after year with slightly different graphics - some exceptions do exist, but they're thin on the ground.

These days I play indie titles almost exclusively - you don't get the most polished graphics or the longest games, but you do get some very interesting, different, and addictive gameplay mechanics (with no MTs)
 
very good game, but I think Forza 8 will surclass it
I bought Forza Motorsport 7 for PC last week and find it completely undriveable. The cars behave so unrealistically that I can't handle them at all. In simulation mode, you're constantly spinning without warning and can't catch the cars either. The physics are so strange that I don't understand what the car is doing next, it doesn't feel like driving a car at all.

The tracks are also horrible. When I look at how good fantasy tracks like Trial Mountain, Deep Forest or Rome City were in Gran Turismo, I can't understand what the designers were thinking with the Forza tracks.

I knew it wouldn't be on iRacing or rFactor 2 level, but I didn't expect the game to be completely undriveable with a steering wheel. Even the old PS2 Gran Turismos were fun with a wheel.

Strangely enough, the game is described in many reviews as simulation-heavy. Gran Turismo is way better than Forza.
 
Highest paying race pays out just over 1 million an hour with clean race bonus. One hour of doing a shitty rally "race" over and over again for an hour. Most of the care you'd really want are between 1-20 million. So 4 hours of grinding to buy a 4 million credit car.

The people saying that it's good you have to work for the content you paid 70 quid for are idiotic fanboys who will defend any crap PDI do. Games should not be work, most people will never get their hands on 80% of the content used to hype up the game. Its simply lousy design to encourage you to pay twice for the content you bought. 20 hours of doing the same race to buy one 20 million credit car without spending credits on any other car parts. Then buying tyres for each car if you want to race online.


EDIT: They've nerfed the payout on that race, brilliant.
 
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I bought Forza Motorsport 7 for PC last week and find it completely undriveable. The cars behave so unrealistically that I can't handle them at all. In simulation mode, you're constantly spinning without warning and can't catch the cars either. The physics are so strange that I don't understand what the car is doing next, it doesn't feel like driving a car at all.

The tracks are also horrible. When I look at how good fantasy tracks like Trial Mountain, Deep Forest or Rome City were in Gran Turismo, I can't understand what the designers were thinking with the Forza tracks.

I knew it wouldn't be on iRacing or rFactor 2 level, but I didn't expect the game to be completely undriveable with a steering wheel. Even the old PS2 Gran Turismos were fun with a wheel.

Strangely enough, the game is described in many reviews as simulation-heavy. Gran Turismo is way better than Forza.
you seem to not be able to control the car with Simulation mode and no assist, that's why there are assists and normal mode for unskilled I mean drivers with difficulties.
About the physics, I admit they are not really good, Forza 8 will have 360hz FFB and 8 points contact, on the paper it destroys GT7.
About the graphics, at 4k ultra, Forza 7 is always more beauty than GT7....I have no hope for GT7 about graphics compared to Forza 8.
I add I can run Forza 7 at 8k with 3090.
GT7 and Forza are both good game for me, I prefer Forza simply cause it's PC plateform.
 
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Coming from GT (1,2,3,5,6) as the racing games that made me discover the pleasure of driving SIM, one of the thing I hated about those games was the almost necessary grinding to have credit to access some of the content I was interested in driving.
Since I have switch to SIM games, no grinding, no microtransaction, this is heaven for me.
So, if one does not like grinding and/or microtransaction, GT7 is a bad choice. Particularly in a SIM world full with wonderful, to me superior, alternatives.
Buying GT7 and complaining about grinding and/or microtransaction, is to me like going to a Chinese restaurant and complaining they have no French cuisine. :O_o:
 

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